Device for removing copies from normal path of travel

ABSTRACT

In apparatus for normally conveying copies to a delivery chute or the like, such as in a printing or folding machine, copies can be diverted from the normal path of travel and supplied to a conveyor belt arrangement for removing certain copies to a collection point. Under ordinary conditions, a pivotally mounted deflector directs copies from the blades on a delivery wheel to the delivery chute and when certain copies are to be removed, the deflector is pivoted so that the copies can be picked up by the conveyor belt arrangement.

United States Patent Heimlicher [451 Aug. 15, 1972 1 DEVICE FOR REMOVING COPIES FROM NORMAL PATH OF TRAVEL [72] Inventor: Paul Heimlicher, Bolligen, Switzerland 73 Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Winkler Fallert s;

C0. AG, Berns, Switzerland [22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 87,811

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 18, 1969 Sweden ..l5839/69 [52] US. Cl ..27l/64, 271/80 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65h 29/62 [58] Field of Search ..27l/64, 80, 81

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,489,166 4/1924 Spiess ..27 1/64 2,417,145 3/1947 Ward ..271/64 UX 1,637,170 7/1927 Zuckerman ..2l7/80 X 3,487,447 12/ 1969 Fusco ..27l/64 3,531,108 9/1970 Rabinow etal ..271/64 1,762,286 6/1930 Wood ..27l/64 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 726,293 10/ l 942 Germany... ..27 l /80 Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk Assistant Examiner--Bruce H. Stoner, Jr. Attorney-McGlew and Toren 1 1 ABSTRACT In apparatus for normally conveying copies to a delivery chute or the like, such as in a printing or folding machine, copies can be diverted from the normal path of travel and supplied to a conveyor belt arrangement for removing certain copies to a collection point. Under ordinary conditions, a pivotally mounted deflector directs copies from the blades on a delivery wheel to the delivery chute and when certain copies are to be removed, the deflector is pivoted so that the copies can be picked up by the conveyor belt arrangement.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR REMOVING COPIES FROM NORMAL PATH OF TRAVEL SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an apparatus for conveying copies from a printing machine, folding apparatus and the like to a collection point and, more particularly, it is concerned with an arrangement for selectively removing certain copies from the normal path of travel to the collection point.

In the operation of rotary printing machines, copies are periodically removed as they are conveyed from the machine to a collection point for checking the quality of the printing operation. This operation is normally performed by hand and requires a certain skill in removing the copy or copies to be checked. Furthermore, in such operations it is often necessary to remove waste copies, such as occur when there is a changeover in rolls, and such waste copies are also removed by hand as they are conveyed to the collection point.

In high-speed printing machines, such manual removal operations are difficult and, further, such manual operations are in contradiction of the increased automation employed in printing machines. Accordingly, it is the purpose of the present invention to find a way of automating the removal of copies from their normal path of travel.

Switches are known which engage, for example, folding cylinders, and strip off the copies to be removed. However, because these copies are travelling at the full speed of the operation, they tend to fly off the cylinder in an uncontrolled manner with the result that this known device does not adequately serve the intended purpose.

In another arrangement, it has been proposed to release the grippers holding the copies by means of cam segments so that the copies to be removed can be dropped from the normal path of travel. In such an arrangement, a problem exists because of the great many copies located between the scanning point and the point of copy removal. Accordingly, a counting mechanism is required which causes a delay in the opening of the grippers. Further, copies for checking the printing operation may be removed at a point where a considerable quantity of waste is produced before the printer notices any defects in the copies.

In another known embodiment, several cooperating pivotal and stationary stops have been used, however, the pivotal stops require extremely complicated control movements and it is difficult to adapt the stops to one another in practice.

Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a device for removing copies from their normal path of travel which overconies the disadvantages and problems experienced in similar devices in the past.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, at least one conveyor means, made up of an arrangement of conveyor belts, is positioned in the path of blades carrying copies on a delivery wheel so that copies not removed from the delivery wheel by a pivotally arranged deflector are received by the conveyor means for delivery to a collection point.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the Drawing:

FIG. I is an elevational view of a copy conveying apparatus embodying the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a partial view of a folding apparatus with which the present invention can be employed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, copies are fed from a folding apparatus 2 to a delivery wheel 3, blades 4 are secured to the periphery of the delivery wheel 3 in angularly spaced relationship and each blade picks up a copy from the folding apparatus and carries the copy until it is displaced by a stop 5 and deposited onto a delivery chute 6. As shown in FIG. 1, the deflector 5 is shown, in a first position for removing copies from the blades, in chain lines designated by the reference numeral 5 and the deflector can be pivoted into a second position shown in full lines and designated by the reference numeral 5 to prevent the normal removal of copies onto the delivery chute 6. An arm 5a pivotally supports the deflector 5 so that it can be pivoted between its first and second positions. Secured to the deflector at a point spaced from its point of pivotal connection to the arm 5a is a linkage arm 12 which extends longitudinally from the deflector with its other end connected to a power source 8. By means of the power source 8, the linkage arm 12 can be moved in its longitudinal direction for pivoting the deflector 5 between its first and second positions.

The delivery wheel 3 is supported on a shaft 16 and a disc 10 is mounted on the shaft alongside the delivery wheel. Cams 9 are positioned on the periphery of the disc 10 in approximately the same angular relationship as the blades 4 on the delivery wheel.

When a known scanning device 7, such as shown in FIG. 2, indicates the presence of waste copies, a signal is transmitted to the power source 8 at the moment that one of the cams 9 contacts the switch 11 so that the power source 8 is activated and the linkage arm 12 is displaced longitudinally for moving the deflector 5 into its second position designated by the reference character 5'. The cams are synchronized with the blades so that deflector 5 is pivoted into it second position as a copy is about to contact the deflector for displacement onto the delivery chute. However, when the deflector is pivoted upwardly, as shown in FIG. 1, the copy instead of being removed by the deflector, remains on the blade and continues in its rotational path of movement about the shaft 16 until the copy is engaged between a pair of conveyor belts 13 and 14, which remove the copy and convey it into a collection cage 15. In place of a collection cage 15, another conveyor belt can be used for receiving the removed copy and conveying it to a desired collection or discharge point.

After a selected number of copies are removed by the conveyor belts I3 and 14 based on a number set on the switch 11, one of the cams 9 releases the switch and, by breaking the circuit to the power source, the linkage arm is displaced in the opposite direction and the deflector is pivoted into its first position, shown in chain lines, for displacing copies from the blades 4 on the delivery wheel onto the delivery chute 6. The switching means between the scanning device 7, the switch 1 1, and the power source 8 are not the subject of the present invention.

Under normal operation, several delivery wheels are mounted on the shaft 16 and similarly several deflectors S are arranged for displacing the copies from the delivery wheels into the delivery chute. The' control movement of the individual linkage arms 12 each connected to one of the deflectors S, is synchronized by means ofa lever 17 pivoted about a shaft 18.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for conveying copies from a printingmachine, folding apparatus and .the like, comprising:

a rotatable delivery wheel;

a plurality of similarly shaped blades each secured in angularly spaced relationship to the periphery of said delivery wheel for receiving and transporting copies;

a copy-removing device including a deflector pivotally displaceable relative to said blades between a first position for removing copies from said blade and a second position pivotally displaced from the copy-removing position, a power source, a longitudinally extending linkage arm connected to said power source and movable in its longitudinal direction, said deflector attached to said linkage arm at a position spaced from said power source, a support arm, said deflector pivotally attached to said support arm for pivotal displacement between its first and second positions;

means for selectively displacing said copy-removing device including a scanning device for checking copies being conveyed by the apparatus, a switch connected to said scanning device and positioned adjacent said delivery wheel, a shaft for rotatably supporting said delivery wheel, a disk mounted on said shaft for rotation with said delivery wheel, cams formed on the periphery of said disk in the same angular spacing as said blades on said delivery wheel, said cams arranged to contact said switch as said'shaft rotates, and said switch being connected to said power source for longitudinally displacing said linkage arm and pivoting said deflector between its first and second positions; and

a device angularly spaced from the first position of said deflector for removing copies from said blades when said deflector is in its second position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said device for removing copies from said blades comprises a pair of conveyor belts arranged downstream in the path of movement of said blades from the first position of said deflector.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a delivery cage positioned adjacent the end of said pair of conveyor belts and spaced from said blades for collecting the copies removed from said blades by said conveyor belts. 

1. Apparatus for conveying copies from a printing machine, folding apparatus and the like, comprising: a rotatable delivery wheel; a plurality of similarly shaped blades each secured in angularly spaced relationship to the periphery of said delivery wheel for receiving and transporting copies; a copy-removing device including a deflector pivotally displaceable relative to said blades between a first position for removing copies from said blade and a second position pivotally displaced from the copy-removing position, a power source, a longitudinally extending linkage arm connected to said power source and movable in its longitudinal direction, said deflector attached to said linkage arm at a position spaced from said power source, a support arm, said deflector pivotally attached to said support arm for pivotal displacement between its first and second positions; means for selectively displacing said copy-removing device including a scanning device for checking copies being conveyed by the apparatus, a switch connected to said scanning device and positioned adjacent said delivery wheel, a shaft for rotatably supporting said delivery wheel, a disk mounted on said shaft for rotation with said delivery wheel, cams formed on the periphery of said disk in the same angular spacing as said blades on said delivery wheel, said cams arranged to contact said switch as said shaft rotates, and said switch being connected to said power source for longitudinally displacing said linkage arm and pivoting said deflector between its first and second positions; and a device angularly spaced from the first position of said deflector for removing copies from said blades when said deflector is in its second position.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said device for removing copies from said blades comprises a pair of conveyor belts arranged downstream in the path of movement of said blades from the first position of said deflector.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a delivery cage positioned adjacent the end of said pair of conveyor belts and spaced from said blades for collecting the copies removed from said blades by said conveyor belts. 